1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for fabricating partitions of a plasma display device and a plasma display device having the partitions fabricated thereby, and more particularly, to a method for fabricating partitions on a rear substrate of a plasma display device using an electrophotography method and a plasma display device having the partitions fabricated thereby.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma display devices displaying an image by gas discharge have been known to have superior performances in display capacity, brightness, contrast, a latent image, and a viewing angle, and thus highlighted as a display panel that can replace the conventional CRTs in the future. In the plasma display device, gas discharge is generated between electrodes by direct-current (DC) or alternatingcurrent (AC) voltage applied to the electrodes and then the gas radiates ultraviolet rays so that light is emitted by fluorescent substance excited by the ultraviolet rays. The plasma display device can be classified into an AC type and a DC type according to a discharge mechanism.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of a general AC type plasma display device.
Referring to the drawing, a first electrode 13a which is a transparent display electrode and a second electrode 13b which is an address electrode are formed between a front glass substrate 11 and a rear glass substrate 12. The first and second electrodes 13a and 13b are formed in strips on the inner surfaces of the front and rear glass substrates 11 and 12, respectively, and are crossed each other when the substrates 11 and 12 are assembled. A dielectric layer 14 and a protective layer 15 are deposited in order on the inner surface of the front glass substrate 11. The rear glass substrate 12 has a dielectric layer 14' formed thereon and partitions 17 are formed on the dielectric layer 14'. A cell 19, a space for filling inert gas such as argon (Ar), is formed between the partitions 17. The partitions 17 are coated with fluorescent material 18 as shown in the drawing.
To operate the plasma display device having the above structure, high voltage, called a trigger voltage, is applied to generate discharge between the electrodes 13a and 13b. The discharge is generated when cations are stored in the dielectric layer 14 by the trigger voltage. When the trigger voltage exceeds a threshold voltage, the argon gas filling the cell 19 is transformed into a plasma state due to the discharge and a stable discharge state is maintained between the electrodes 13a and 13b. In the stable discharge state, ultraviolet rays of light emitted during the discharge collides against the fluorescent material 18 to emit light. Accordingly, each pixel formed in an unit of a cell can display an image.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a blade coater. The blade coater is one of apparatuses used to fabricate partitions of a plasma display device using a conventional printing method.
Referring to the drawing, a mesh (not shown) is attached on the upper surface of a rear substrate 21 on which the address electrode and the dielectric layer are already formed in the previous process. A blade 22 is installed at the lower portion of a support bar 23. The support bar 23 can horizontally move above the rear substrate 21. The blade 22 horizontally moves while pressing material for the partitions in a paste state placed on the mesh attached to the rear substrate 21 so that the partition material can be uniformly coated on the surface of the dielectric layer of the rear substrate 21.
However, the fabrication of the partition using the blade coater according to the conventional printing method as above causes the following problems.
First, the blade coater printing operation should be repeated several times until the height of the partition having a predetermined width is obtained, during which each printing operation necessitates a drying operation. If the height of a complete partition is about 200 .mu.m, the printing operation and the drying operation should repeat at least ten times. Thus, the time needed for fabricating the partition gets longer, e.g., one hour or more is required per substrate. Such delay in the fabrication process causes lowering of productivity.
Another problem is that, when the blade presses the partition material in a paste state against the surface of the substrate, the mesh attached on the substrate is deformed due to pressure of the blade. Since the mesh functions to maintain a pattern of the partitions, the deformation of the mesh critically effects the fabrication of the partition according to the designed pattern. That is, the shape of a finally completed partition can be deformed, thereby deteriorating the quality of products.